U.S. Route 51

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U.S. Route 51

Length:

1286^[1] mi (2070 km)

Formed:

1926^[1]

South end:

US 61 at Laplace, LA

Major
junctions:

I-20 at Jackson, MS

I-40 at Memphis, TN

I-57 at Mounds, IL

I-70 at Vandalia, IL

I-72 at Decatur, IL

I-55/I-74 at Bloomington, IL

I-80 at La Salle, IL

I-88 at Rochelle, IL

I-90 at Rockford, IL

I-39/I-90/I-94 at Madison, WI

North end:

US 2 at Hurley, WI

United States Numbered Highways
List - Bannered - Divided - Replaced

U.S. Route 51 is a north-south United States highway that runs for 1,286 miles (2,070 km) from northern Wisconsin to the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana. Much of the highway in Wisconsin and Illinois runs parallel to or overlaps Interstate 39. The highway's northern terminus is Hurley, Wisconsin, at U.S. Highway 2. Its southern terminus is Laplace, Louisiana, at U.S. Highway 61.

In addition to singing about U.S. Highway 61 on his album Highway 61 Revisited, musician Bob Dylan also commemorated Highway 51, covering folk song "Highway 51 Blues" on his eponymous album Bob Dylan.

In Memphis, Tennessee, all of U.S. 51 south of South Parkway East was renamed from Bellevue Boulevard to Elvis Presley Boulevard. Graceland sits on this highway, in the subdivision of Whitehaven.

In 2004, the six states that Highway 51 traverses banded together as the Explore Hwy 51 Coalition to help promote this "All-American Road". The group now offers visitor information for traveling the length of the road.^[2]

1 Route description
2 See also
- 2.1 Related routes
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Route description

Major cities
Wausau, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Janesville, Wisconsin Beloit, Wisconsin Rockford, Illinois Bloomington-Normal, Illinois Decatur, Illinois Centralia, Illinois Carbondale, Illinois Cairo, Illinois Memphis, Tennessee Jackson, Mississippi McComb, Mississippi Hammond, Louisiana

[edit] Louisiana

U.S. 51 crosses the Mississippi/Louisiana border a few miles north of Kentwood and continues to parallel Interstate 55 until it joins I-55 just south of Hammond at Exit 28. From Hammond, the two highways crosses the swamps between Ponchatoula and Laplace on viaducts to Interstate 10, where I-55 ends. U.S. 51 continues southwestward into Laplace where it meets its end at U.S. 61 (Airline Highway).

[edit] Mississippi

U.S. 51 enters the Magnolia State from Tennessee at Southaven and parallels Interstate 55 to the east for much of its length, except for the section between the Tennessee line and Grenada, where it parallels the highway to the west. From Memphis, U.S. 51 passes through Senatobia, Grenada, Winona and Canton before reaching Jackson.

At the Jackson-Ridgeland line, U.S. 51 overlaps I-55 from Exit 103 (County Line Road) to Exit 96A (Pearl Street) downtown. The split is only temporary as the highway traverses Pearl, Pascagoula and State streets and meets I-55 again at Exit 93 (Interstate 20/I-55/State Street interchange).

The two highways run together until Exit 72 (North Crystal Springs). The highway then parallels the interstate through Hazelhurst, Brookhaven and McComb until it reaches the Louisiana border.

The Mississippi section of U.S. 51 is defined at Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.

[edit] Tennessee

Main article: U.S. Route 51 in Tennessee

US 51 travels through Memphis and up to the Kentucky border in the Mississippi valley. It is planned to become or be bypassed by Interstate 69 through Tennessee.

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Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Kentucky

U.S 51 enters Kentucky at Fulton, and continues north through the towns of Bardwell and Wickliffe to the Ohio River, where it is multiplexed with U.S highways 60 and 62 over the Ohio.

Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] Illinois

See also: U.S. Route 51 in Illinois

In the state of Illinois, U.S. 51 runs north from the Cairo Ohio River Bridge with U.S. Route 60 and U.S. Route 62, through Decatur, Illinois to South Beloit at the Wisconsin border. For all but the northern 1/4 mile (1/2 km) that Interstate 39 runs in Illinois, U.S. 51 overlaps I-39. Previous routings of U.S. 51 became Illinois Route 251 and Illinois Route 351.

U.S. 51 is the main route that divides eastern and western Illinois. It is 415.95 miles (669.41 km) long in Illinois.^[3]

[edit] Wisconsin

See also: U.S. Route 51 in Wisconsin

In the state of Wisconsin, U.S. 51 enters from Illinois at Beloit, and continues north to its northern terminus in Hurley where it junctions with US 2.

Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

[edit] See also

[edit] Related routes

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
^ Explore Highway 51 Coalition
^ Illinois Technology Transfer Center (2007). T2 GIS Data. Retrieved on 2007-11-08.

[edit] External links

US-51 endpoint photos

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